The Boat Ride Home
by Cassandra Cassidy
Summary: Takes place at the beginning of the first J&D game. Just a little deleted scene the boat ride back from Misty Island. My take on the origin of Daxter's idea to perch on Jak's shoulder. Oneshot.


_Author's Notes: Hi, all. New to the Jak and Daxter fandom… thought I'd try my hand at writing for it. Though I'm a good way through the second game at the moment, I figured the beginning of the first game was a good place to use as a starting point, so this fic is basically a little (and I do mean little; it's like drabble-sized _XD_) filler scene – the boat ride back to Sandover from Misty Island, after Daxter grabs Jak's tunic and screams a lot, but before they go to see Samos._

_Hope you all enjoy it. _:)

_Disclaimer: I don't own Jak & Daxter; please don't sue me for having fun._

_Dedication: To my soul sis Snare-chan (LoverofSilverHairedBishies), for hounding me mercilessly (hehe) to play the Jak games. Without her suggesting them to me, I probably never would've picked 'em up, this fanfic wouldn't exist, and my winter break from college would have been very dull and boring. _XD;

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**The Boat Ride Home**

* * *

He was still in shock.

As Jak silently set their "borrowed" boat back on course for Sandover Village, it was all Daxter could do not to look down at himself and start screaming again. He looked over the water, but that made him queasy. He looked at Sandover, off in the distance, but that just reminded him of the scolding they were bound to receive from Old Green. He looked at Jak…

…The urge to scream again was hard to suppress, but the normally-outspoken boy… ottsel (he shuddered) managed it.

He wanted to, though. He wanted to scream his little Eco-mutated lungs out. After all, it had been Jak's idea to go to Misty Island. It had been Jak's idea to spy on the Lurkers. It had been Jak who'd activated that stupid piece of Precursor junk (and Daxter still couldn't fathom how he'd done it). And it had been Jak's weight that sent Daxter sprawling into that pit of black and purple goo.

It was all Jak's fault.

But…

Jak was his friend. His BEST friend. Possibly his ONLY friend.

And so, despite Jak's silence, Daxter knew from years of experience that the other felt bad about what had happened.

And Daxter didn't want to be a burden… He supposed he didn't HAVE to have followed Jak to Misty Island. He didn't HAVE to have spied on the Lurkers with him. He didn't HAVE to have tossed that stupid piece of Precursor junk over to Jak for inspection. And he probably shouldn't have been standing so close to the pit of black and purple goo to begin with.

It was his own fault.

Daxter looked over at his buddy, who now towered over him even more than he used to, and cleared his throat.

"Hey, uh, Jak?"

The other's gaze, which had been focused on their destination, flickered over – and then down – to him.

"Now, I'm not one to hold a grudge or anything," Daxter drawled, "but… things got a little screwy back there, huh?" he finished lamely. He had wanted to convey how he didn't blame Jak (anymore) for what had happened, but at the same time, it would make him feel a lot better if he could just joke about it.

Jak gave him a grief-stricken look, and Daxter could see that despite his muteness, the other wanted nothing more than to say he was sorry for what had happened. Feeling a pang of guilt at causing that look in his friend's eyes, Daxter held up his hands - paws - and tried, more for Jak's sake than his own, not to grimace at the renewed reminder of his current state.

"You don't have to apologize, Jak; I forgive ya," he said quickly, and then an idea hit him.

"Buuuuuut," he went on, "you DO kinda owe me one for that lovely swim…"

Jak's next expression conveyed clearly that he was willing to do anything he could to make up for it.

"Therefore, for as long as I'm stuck in this furry little body, I hereby claim YOUR left shoulder as MY personal perch on all further adventures!"

This said, he raised himself up to his full – if rather unimpressive – height.

Jak blinked at him; his face said quite plainly, "That's it?"

"So, do we have a deal?" Daxter asked, holding out his paw again, this time to shake on it.

Jak nodded the affirmative, carefully taking hold of Daxter's outstretched appendage and shaking it gently. That settled, Daxter wasted no time in scampering up to his new vantage point…

…which only gave him more nausea-inducing ocean to look at.

He hopped down, slumping to the floor at Jak's feet.

"I sure hope Old Green knows how to turn me back," he said sullenly, "and that he's not too mad at us to help."

He was startled a moment later when his friend patted him comfortingly on the head.

Maybe he could get used to being an ottsel, if worse came to worst. He could certainly forgive Jak for knocking him over the edge of that pit if he kept lavishing him with attention. It was just a little goo, after all. Easy to fix; Daxter was sure of it.

And with this thought giving him renewed hope, the boat arrived at the dock in Sandover, and the two friends headed up the island to Samos' hut.

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_End Notes: So there we are. If you liked it, or have any comments/criticisms, drop me a review! Particularly I'm worried about characterization; having never written them before, I have no idea if I'm going at it properly, so let me know…_

_Just because I like to explain why I write the things I do – this particular scene, I just thought that Daxter had to have at least blamed Jak somewhat for what happened, but he seems like something of the forgiving type to me; forgives, but doesn't forget, as Snare-chan put it. _:) _That, and I wanted there to be a reason for why he's on Jak's shoulder all the time – I'm pretty sure he didn't hang out up there when he was human! -backstory whore-_


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